The scene of today's accident - just seconds before it happened

The rally sport is in chock after a tragic accident today in Czech republic, where three people spectating the Valašska rally where killed. The driver of the car, the 21 year old Lapdavský from Slovakia was seriously injured and chocked. I don’t know what happened and why – and I don’t really want to speculate in it. What I do know is that the turn  should for sure be a forbidden zone and that signs or barriers should point out that to the spectators.

Generally talking, I think that the safety in the rally sport is very well maintained. Organisers put safety highest on the agenda and spectators are most often very well informed about forbidden zones, there are marshals placed in dangerous places and safety cars and sometimes helicopters secures the stage just before it gets started so noone is standing in dangerous positions. Considering driver/co-driver safety, cars are improving continually, and much of the safety evolvement in road cars is also driven by data and tests made in rally cars. One should remember that most rally cars are built on the same chassi as road cars and driven on common roads – closed for traffic. This means that comparisons against road traffic is made quite easy – much easier than in track racing where big zones around the track is used to make off-road excursions less dangerous.

So, whats the main problem with rally safety? With all respect to the ones involved in this certain accident of today, I must say that it is spectators not willing to follow the instructions given by organisers, marshals and other spectators.

Everyone going to a rally wants spectacular experiences, high speeds and some of them also wants to see cars go off. Going off the road is a part of rallying, and doesn’t at all mean that people want anyone to get hurt. But it is a problem that some people doesn’t follow marshals (or other spectators) instructions and therefore stand in dangerous places. I don’t know anything about the instructions in the Valasska rally, but looking at the photo just for one second tells me that there is a clear and present danger to the life of anyone standing in that zone during a rally – no doubt about it. This is also confirmed by the movie (see below) where anyone can see how extremely fast the accident happens. I can hardly believe that they hadn’t been warned by marshals or other spectators at the scene.

Many people have too high expectations on their ability to get out of a spot if a driver lose control. Speeds often doesn’t look so fast, but when something happens – you most often haven’t even reacted before the car is way off the road. I’ve seen quite some accidents myself – luckily without any serious injuries involved – and your best chance is that the driver can avoid you and at least choose exactly the spot where he goes off. However, since an accident is by it’s nature never intended, that may not be the case. So, to anyone out there – make sure to always use your brain, follow instructions, keep some extra safety margin and instruct your fellow spectators to do the same! That’s the smallest thing we can do to show our respect to those ones involved in todays accident.

Watch a video of the accident here:

Read more here (news articles):

http://www.dn.se/sport/otack-rallyolycka-i-tjeckien-1.832640 (in Swedish)